Food Fantasy OC Biographies: Zuppa Toscana
by Soul Rider
Summary: The "soup of Tuscany" is best served warm, just like the Food Soul's eternal flame. But the scarring from an unfortunate event threatens to turn his heart cold like the gravestones.
1. Cemetery

**New bio set! Also on Archive!**

* * *

\- Cemetery -

The lanterns lined along the paths of the cemetery are slowly lit one by one. The warm glow of the lanterns held a special flame. Not a real flame, but a living light.

Often, the souls of the deceased in this cemetery are unable to find rest. These lanterns will guide them to the afterlife, where they will finally find peace.

My Master Attendant is called "The Reaper" because he is in charge of lighting the lanterns that show the path to the afterlife. He always wears a mask in front of his face to protect himself from the more spiteful spirits, and I must wear one as well as I trail up in the front of him.

With a mask in one hand and my lantern in the other, my job is to be the Kharon, the one who helps the spirits find the path to the afterlife.

"Soon, there will be no more need for this place. All of the departed who were abandoned here for many years will finally have peace. And my Zuppa, you are brighter than any flame. Your light guide them to that peace."

The nights grow colder as the sun falls faster over the horizon, and we still go out of our way to help the poor souls still remaining in this dreary place.

"All of these gravestones belonged to people who were lost at the hands of Fallen Angels. Though the poor souls have been through so much as well. They were Food Souls like you once, my Zuppa, until corrupted human hands turned them into monsters. I wish no such fate upon you. If your light burns out, how will the dead, including I when I pass on, ever find peace?"

The thought of Master Attendant's coming death still leaves a hollow feeling in me. With each passing sunset and dawn, he grows closer to joining the souls in the graves to the afterlife in which is my responsibility. It is I who must guide my master to peace.

"My master, I wish not to think of it."

"Oh Zuppa, right around there is a stubborn soul who won't leave her grave."

A gravestone sits at the far end of the cemetery, far from the path Master Attendant is lighting. With my mask in place and my lantern out, I make my way to the tombstone. The name on the stone has long since faded, with only the remnants of a date from long ago shown under my light, and I can swear I hear a low moan.

"Where is my son…?" It is a woman's voice. "My son… My son…"

"Lost soul, your son has long since left this world… I have come to take you to him…" I must coax this soul to the path. She will surely find her son on the other side.

"Lou…? Is that you, Lou…? I hear your voice…"

"I am not your son. I only know where he could be."

"Lou… I can't see you… But your voice is there… Please Lou, let me see you… I can't leave without seeing you…!"

The woman's soul is weeping. She will remain firm and not leave this cold world unless she gazes on her son. My heart is torn on what to do. If she does not let go of the living world, her soul will fade from all worlds for eternity. But I cannot let her gaze upon my face and be disappointed that I am not her son. She can then lash out at me, which will be no good for the other souls here.

"Lou… You've grown so much…!"

Wh-when did I let my mask drop from my eyes?

"You're so beautiful, Lou! I am so happy to see you once again…!"

Maybe she's being delusional…?

"Zuppa!" Master Attendant…!

Grasping my mask desperately, I dash back to the path to the security of the lamps. My mask comes back to my face, and I feel a presence behind me.

"Lou…! Loooou!"

Something cold pierces me. A hand… It feels like a dagger… Straight to my heart… My body starts to feel cold.

"Zuppa! Zuppa!"

The lights are growing dimmer, my strength leaving me. I can barely comprehend myself falling to the ground.

"Lou…?!"

"Zuppa!"

And I find myself surrounded in black.


	2. Burned in Madness

\- Burned in Madness -

It's cold… So cold… My body is freezing…

"Will you wake up already?"

That's not a voice I've heard of before… But I can barely move, let alone open my eyes…

"Lou…"

That mother's voice…! How can I still hear it?

"Just as you thought. A haunting. I've only seen a few cases of this." A haunting? I'm being haunted? That will explain why my body feels like it's been turned to ice.

"I was only grateful that fate had you come through the area. Please help him." That's the voice of Master Attendant.

"This is a rare case, especially involving one with a Food Soul. Spirits don't simply cling to a Food Soul's own unless there's something they can't let go of. Food Souls' lives span for ages, so removing the spirit will be difficult."

"Name your price! He's the only one who can bring peace to the souls here! But do what you must to purge the spirit from him!"

"Not take Lou…" There's the mother's voice again. "Not take him…"

"Did you hear that?"

"The spirit is taking energy from your Food Soul. It's making us able to hear its voice."

Pain shoots through me, and I hear myself let out a cry of agony even though I don't feel my mouth move. My eyes shoot open, but can't see a thing. It's all white The pain and the cold biting at every part of my being is too unbearable at this point.

"Not take my son!"

"Z-Zuppa!"

"Get out of this room! The spirit has gone wild!"

It hurts…! Everything hurts…! Please make it stop…!

* * *

The ground beneath me is warm, but almost nonexistent to my numb body. I feel so tired, like every ounce of my strength has been sapped from my being.

When I did pass out…? The pain is gone, along with the icy feeling… But what happened…?

"You are safe now, Lou…" The mother again… Her spirit still hasn't left me? "There is nothing to keep us apart again… After you had gone to the war… You will not leave my side again, young man…"

"Wh-what…?" I barely recognize my voice, when I notice the scent of smoke in the air.

"Is that what you believe, spirit who will not leave for salvation?"

"Hu- What?!"

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this… Begone."

A piercing scream tears through the air before vanishing like dust. Suddenly, my body feels lighter and I can register a hand pressing against my face. Ah…! It feels like something has burned against skin where the hand is.

"Forgive me. Had that spirit continued to cling to you any longer, you would've turned and cause more danger." That isn't the voice of my Master Attendant. It's the same voice as before "Even your master knew not of the immense power you wielded. It spread like wildfire and burned everything. Including your master."

What…? Master Attendant is…?

Forcing me eyes to open, I am caught in the gaze of a ghostly pale woman with deep, mourning eyes and an aura of death around her. The ground beneath me begins to cool faster.

"My master… Where is my master…?" I muster myself to ask this mysterious woman in black.

She doesn't answer immediately, only looking up to the star covered sky. I push myself to sit, and I am mortified to be in the middle of the charred ruins of a cottage. By my feet sits my lantern, cracked and open, and without its flame. And only a few feet away from the catastrophe is a body burned beyond any recognition.

"Zuppa…" Th-that voice…

"Master Attendant…?"

"Do not blame yourself… my Zuppa… Her soul could never let go… She didn't want an afterlife…"

A familiar flicker of white fire trails over the burned body.

"I only ask that you… bring me to peace…"

"Master…" My eyes are stinging, my limbs heavy again. The lamp posts in the distance glow brighter than ever.

Voices… All of these voices… They're starting to sound in my head…! It hurts…!

"Don't fight the voices. They are the ones who seek salvation, yes?" the woman beside me makes the voices halt for a moment before they pick up with their cries.

"I cannot hear them, but are you not the Kharon?" She holds up an object by the handle. It's… my mask. "This is the last time you will perform your duty. The last of the souls are waiting."

Like on autopilot, I find myself hoisting my body onto its tired feet, mask in one hand and empty lantern in the other. Then, the white fire on my master's charred body gathers itself and shoots like a comet into my lantern.

The night air suddenly begins to grow warmer with each passing second. Unlike the many times I make this trip, I can hear the rejoicing souls parade behind me. At the end of the path, where the worn stairs to the heavens has remained, a strong wind blows and the sound of cheers is carried on it.

"Thank you so much for your loyalty, my Zuppa. With our passing, you are free. Go wherever you wish now."

I think the mother's spirit has caused me to spiral into insanity, but… I can swear on my life that I see Master Attendant's soul, and him smiling at me before he vanishes.

My master's death has come too soon. The last "Reaper" of this cemetery has now left this world. And instead of being surrounded by darkness, silence has encircled me.


	3. Rain

\- Rain -

I am accustomed to the rain after many nights when it will pour down in the cemetery where I once lived my life protecting it. But this rain may as well be hail as it nips at my face and hands. Seaweed Soup is ahead of me and looks unfettered by the weather.

The right side of my face is heavily bandaged, the work of Seaweed Soup. I haven't been able to look at the scars that still slightly burn under the gauze, but the way the dark Food Soul has stared at my face proves that it's a serious burn.

"We can rest here tonight." Her mystical moonstone's light shows a sizable tree with spread out branches that can block out most of the rain. We both settle beneath the thick limbs and leaves and a shiver runs through me.

"Is the rain always this cold this side of the border?"

"It is not much different from your land, but the winters can be harsh. And we've only crossed the border the day prior. How is your face?"

"Doesn't hurt as much as before. Though I don't recall the last time I have gone this long without needing my mask."

"I see… This is your first incarnation in this world."

"You have never talked this much when we met. What do you mean by reincarnation? I have always thought the afterlife is the end of human lives."

"You are mistaken. Humans go through a sense of rebirth, same as we do."

"We do?"

"Have you not ventured beyond the graves before?"

I stare down at the glowing flame in my lantern before turning to the beautiful stone in the cold woman's arms. It's almost… alluring in an ominous yet charming manner as it illuminates her pale features. And even those foreboding, bright eyes… Oh, her question.

"No. I have only known myself as the Kharon of that cemetery since I first appeared before my Master Attendant."

Seaweed Soup goes quiet, but I notice that her gaze falls on my lantern.

We are cloaked in silence despite the pitter patter of the rain. My clothes are soaked through, but at least my lantern's flame is emitting enough heat so I don't shiver any further. However, my heart feels heavy, leaving my home abandoned with only the burnt remains of the house and the charred body of my master to remember it.

"It also seems that you've awakened your full power, even though it took a spirit who was a lost cause taking over your body to realize it."

Huh? I can only imagine that my stare shows akin to being puzzled.

"Your master knew you were fit to be the one that will save the trapped souls, but he didn't take into account that you had no hold on all of your abilities. Like from looking at you, I discovered that you can actually hear the voices of the dead."

Hear the… voices of the dead? Like with that woman…? But what about Master Attendant…?

"I… I thought Master Attendant could hear them too."

"He was only human. No human can have that strong a connection to beyond the living. Not like we can, especially not like you."

Silence follows once again. Remembering the wisp at the ruins of home, I carefully undo the hinges of my lantern and remove the top. The small ball of white fire comes floating up and it wobbles to the left and right like it will fall any moment. I hold out my hand and the light floats down, seeming to dance along my fingers. It's warm, but not burning me.

"Your lantern's light is no different from my stone, and yet your powers far exceed mine. No wonder that your own soul resisted the woman enough for it to retaliate with an inferno."

"But that was an accident," I insist. "I got careless and she saw my face. Then she went after me and… I killed him. My own Master Attendant… I killed my Master Attendant."

"When we met, you would barely speak a word to me once it settled in that you would be coming with me," Seaweed Soup just changes the subject. "I don't usually hold long conversations with others much either. Suppose that we are not so different in that regard."

To my surprise, she reaches a lithe hand out to the flame in my hand. She pulls only a little back at the warmth. I suddenly feel weight fall into my lap and I look down to find her precious moonstone.

"It's very warm… not like my stone…" The glowing stone is cold like she says, feeling it through my damp clothes. And yet, with my mask laying at my side, I hold it in my other hand. The two lights look almost mesmerizing next to each other. The two of us just continue to stare all throughout the rainy night in silence once more, no more words needed for the time.


	4. The Monastery

\- The Monastery -

"I feel sad to see you go so soon." Wonton's genuine expression of melancholy stares back at me.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Crab Long Bao follows up.

"I must. My place isn't here."

"At least hold a longer conversation with us than have Seaweed Soup do the talking for you," the relaxed man complained, his wonton spirit floating in my direction.

"It is part of my late master's wishes that I venture out farther. What more should I explain to you?"

"But Seaweed has made a habit of following you wherever you go."

"That is of her own choice."

"But Tusc," Crab Long Bao whines, "you're now just opening up a bit to us."

"I have to go. I'm sorry, but I can't stay."

"Just listen to him." Bless Tortoise Jelly's intervention the second he steps into the room. I am starting to get a little anxious with all the attention like I have been these past few weeks under this roof. "Our opinions shouldn't matter to him. If he wants to go, he can go. We shouldn't stop him."

I give a nod of thanks as the other three in the room sulk in disappointment. With no more hesitation, I step out the door, where Seaweed Soup is unsurprisingly standing at the gate from the isolated manor.

"Seaweed, I feel like now is the right time to ask of you; why do you insist to continue with me?"

"..." She doesn't meet my eyes, but I can see the forlorn in her being and decide to not pressure her into answering.

* * *

We come upon an abandoned monastery days after crossing the border to Gloriville, and the lock on the door has rusted and weakened. The lock breaks at a single touch and the two doors creak open. The entire interior is under a thick layer of dust, the colors of the glass windows faded and vines making their way inside.

The moment I hear the mourning voices of the sisters that once lived here, I step into the decaying monastery, mask over my scarred face and lantern raised despite the sunlight pooling in. My feet carry me towards the altar in the far back of the monastery, and I can hear the rejoicing voices of the sisters behind my figure.

At the foot of the altar, wisps of white grace my eyes as the sisters' souls finally make it to the afterlife. One stays behind for a split second, as if looking in my direction in thanks before she too departs. But once she leaves, I feel another, one much stronger than a mere human's spirit. It's even stronger than the presence of Seaweed Soup behind me.

An angel appears before me, a beautiful angel whose bell I can now hear. The ethereal creature stares deep into my eyes behind the mask, and terror strikes my very soul as the entity barely moves from her position. Her ghostly hand reaches out after a moment towards me and my legs suddenly break into a run to the door. But meeting me at the exit of the old monastery was a serious man in a priest's robes with a beautiful young woman in his arms. The woman's eyes show no life in them, as if she is not even a living being.

"Tell me how you did it," the man demands. "And answer why you run."

My knees instantly lock up for some reason. I am unable to move, unable to speak. The fear that has invaded me refuses to release me from its grip. Then those hands, those ghostly hands of the angel, lithe and long, shield my eyes. Despite her being a spirit, her hands are far warmer than Seaweed Soup's and almost as warm as my lantern's eternal flame.

The hands press against the scar, and I feel a familiar pain that I will rather move on from. But the pain and fear are different from then, this fear is from being pursued to be killed.

I-I don't want to die…! It hurts…! I still…!

A flash of white invades my sight, and my body finally becomes unfrozen as I fall to the ground. The man at the door steps away from me in shock, and the angel enters the girl's body with no resistance. Beautiful, white flames encircle me, never coming too close to me.

"The flames are… shielding him? What kind of Food Soul are you?"

"Pretzel, he is like me, only his fire guides and protects." The heavenly voice is coming from the woman, who is possessed by the angel. The man gently places her feet first on the ground. "Forgive me. Your scar has not completely healed, and it symbolizes what you see as a sin."

"Get away from him," Seaweed Soup demands as she catches up. I turn around to her, and my empty lantern is in her possession. "What sort of priests are you to strike terror in a man who desires nothing but peace for the dead?"

"It must be his soul that forced him to flee from me. I mean neither of you harm. But how you brought those mourning souls to heaven, it caught our eyes. We were on our way to do the same thing."

My strength is starting to slip away, and the eternal fire returns to my lantern.

"You must not be from this land," the woman said softly as she kneels down. "I am Canele, cardinal of the church which the sisters who lived here served. Here, your power is a true blessing from God."

"A blessing?" I can't help but question that. "It is this power that cost my master's life."

"Because of a spirit who couldn't let go," my companion argues. "She is the reason you carry that scar in the first place."

"So you were possessed by a soul beyond redeeming," the man ponders. "And this soul forced its sins onto you."

Forced her sins… onto me? Why does this all sound eerily correct in my mind?

"I'm… Zuppa. I was… the Kharon of the graves far east."

"Zuppa…" Canele and Pretzel's expressions show that my name holds interest.

"Please, come with us to our church," Canele offered. "You look like you have had a long trip over the border. Your companion is more than welcome as well. Someone with your power doesn't appear from nothing unless it is the Lord's will for us to meet."

I know nothing of a Lord or anything based on religion, but the fear I have felt at first is now gone, believing this angel's words. Perhaps it is actually my late Master Attendant's final will that I meet the people I have met since leaving the cemetery. I will never know.


	5. Zuppa Toscana

\- Zuppa Toscana -

How does a person reach the afterlife after death? No one knows, at least no living being knows. The souls left behind and lost, tethered to this world, are unable to find it.

Old documents of bishops long since past tell of a Food Soul named "Zuppa Toscana" and his eternal flame that is a gift from God to guide the lost souls to heaven. Their writings speak of his amazing power over fire and light, calling him a gift himself that brings the hurt to rest. But the sacred accounts are only released to certain positions of the church.

Zuppa Toscana's memory is also described to be fickle, and each new master costs him all memory of the past as well as his initial power. His ability to hear the dead becomes faint, his power wanes, and his heart slowly grows cold. The individual who summons him must be able to help restore him to his full power and thaw the cold exterior. Normally, a member of the church summons this divine Food Soul, but instead he is summoned by "The Reaper" of a cemetery in a land far from the church.

The bishops pray day and night for their special emissary who bridges the dead to the afterlife to return to them.

Imperial calendar year 540. Cardinal Canele and Priest Pretzel pay a visit to an abandoned monastery to help the souls of the sisters who have been trapped for over a century. To their surprise, they find the door wide open with the rusted lock on the ground. Inside at the altar are two Food Souls, one dressed in black with an air of death and the other wielding a lantern with a white flame. The sisters' souls are quickly passed over thanks to the masked man.

The Food Soul, after calming down from terror of their presence, reveals his name to be Zuppa Toscana. Seeing this as a sign of blessing from God, Canele offers the man and his companion to come to their church. The woman with Zuppa is suspicious of their intentions however, and as they follow the two, she never leaves his side.

* * *

Morning mass has finished for the day.

"How many times has he truly been reincarnated?"

"Reincarnated, my child?" Canele asks.

"Zuppa. You knew of his name already. I have never heard of him and assumed this was his first life. So you know something about him that many don't."

"Ah, the times he's been summoned. There are sacred writings of Fathers long ago that speak many about the Kharon of the Lord. He is a gift from our Lord, but like a newborn, he never remembers any of his past times."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Only accountable eight, Seaweed Soup. The last time Zuppa Toscana has been summoned by the church by the latest date of the accounts, it was 273 years ago."

"Around 300 years? Did Food Souls even exist back then?"

"There's much even we don't understand about ourselves, child. That is why we of this church look to our Lord for answers."

* * *

"Brother?"

A deep voice pierces the subconscious of Zuppa while he wanders the church grounds on a misty morning. A figure of black, red and white becomes clear in the mist, large claws behind him. His presence rivals his own and Canele's, but Zuppa isn't struck by fear like he did in his first encounter with the cardinal.

Fierce red eyes stare at the figure with long hair a darker shade than his own.

"Do… I recognize you from somewhere?" Zuppa asks the Food Soul before him.

The usually fiery, aggressive Boston Lobster is at a loss for words, remembering the faces of Food Souls he had to kill many centuries ago. He only now recalled that this Food Soul wasn't among them.

"We… We are brothers. Created in the same facility. Do you not recall a thing?"

"A facility?" Green eyes gaze into red without fear, which internally scares the gravekeeper for not being afraid of this man.

"What happened to your face, brother?"

"A… A passing gone wrong, I guess you can call it. I-"

Zuppa isn't able to say more before Pretzel blazes in out of nowhere and attacks Boston Lobster. The red clad Food Soul barely gets out of the way, face now contorted with anger.

"Boston Lobster, you have nerves to show up on grounds that want you dead for the thousands of lives you have destroyed."

"And you're one of those idiotic children who follow whatever the humans tell you. You're despicable! Release my brother or I will finish you off like I did those blackhearted humans!"

"Your brother? Zuppa Toscana is a gift of God, he has no relation to you. So I will not hand him over to a sinful murderer like you."

"You're completely brainwashed! This is more why I despise humans!"

Turmoil and confusion swirls around in Zuppa's head at this development, wondering who is right.

"You new generations seriously can't do anything on your own! That makes you weak!"

"I take no meaning to the words of a monster. You will finally be judged for your crimes."

Before anyone realizes what is happening, the mist becomes an inferno of white fire and Pretzel is struck with his own cross, sending him into unconsciousness. Boston Lobster looks at the green eyed man in surprise.

"I don't know why I did that. But somewhere in me, I believe you."

The two disappear just before the blaze disappears and Pretzel comes to. When Canele and Seaweed Soup receive the news, Canele is fraught with shock and Seaweed Soup can only think of what could have brought Zuppa into fleeing the church with Boston Lobster.

"Zuppa Toscana is what you are called now?" the white haired Food Soul asks after they are far from the church.

"Yes. I am not positive about there being a God, but I believe in fate. Like meeting those I have. But just hearing your voice before, I felt familiar with it." Zuppa is met with a rare, small grin without any of the usual sarcasm.

"It's great having you back. You'll like most of the crowd I hang around."

"I will take your word for it… brother."


End file.
